Friday, 18 May 2018

Low entry competitions (UK Competitions)
As you'll all know I love entering competitions and enter quite a few during a week, when I get the time to enter. I enter via some websites and also hunt down my own by doing some internet searches. The competitions that are posted on most of the websites usually have quite high entries due to the amount of compers out there entering via the sites. Here are a few I have found with low entries, under 300 entries. You can also find your own competitions especially on social media sites by searching hashtags like: Win, UKgiveaway, giveaway, giveaways, winme, prize, prizes, lowentry etc.

Posted in end date order, posted by End date / prize / entries and entry route.

Wednesday, 9 May 2018

A Wasgij is jigsaw spelled backwards, they are puzzles that have an image on the cover/box which is a clue of what the puzzle will look like, but not the actual puzzles image itself.

I recently won the Fast Food Frenzy! Wasgij, which on the box shown a busy restaurant in 1958. The idea of the puzzle is to imagine what the restaurant would look like today, for friends and families to enjoy their food and conversation.

First of all we rummaged through the pieces to find the outside edges and corners and fitted them together. Once we had the outside pieces, we found out pieces that looked similar, with the same patterns and writing on them. We slotted those that we could find together or put them near each other, so we had an idea of where they went.

The clever thing about this puzzle in particular and most of the Wasgijs is that some of the characters are the same, but around 50 years later. For example: There is a little scout at the counter on the box, but on the actual puzzle he is a grown adult wearing his uniform. There is also a couple on the box in the foreground touching fingers, whereas on the puzzle, they are much older but still touching hands.

We left out the puzzle on the coffee table in the lounge and occasionally placed more pieces when we saw them, we left it out and those that came round to our house also enjoyed looking and placing pieces.

This jigsaw definitely was enjoyed by many and I'd highly recommend them, I didn't anticipate how much harder a puzzle could be without an actual image to refer to.

Before:

{Do not scroll any further if you do not want to see what the completed puzzle looks like}

Sunday, 6 May 2018

What I love about comping is the community and chance of winning things a long the way. By no means is it a form of income and no way would I be able to quit the day job, to fund our life, through competitions.

I've won a couple of big prizes, one being the first competition I ever entered when I was 16, of a large screen television from Heart Radio's website, I received a winning letter in the post and we arranged to get the television delivered to our house, at a small delivery cost. (FREE collection was available) I was chuffed to pieces with that prize, especially as I just entered the competition on a whim, as I was passing their website.

The real comping didn't begin until April 2016, when I fell ill and off work for awhile and had lots of time on my hands, but little energy to actually put into anything. My first month of coming I received three prizes, consisting of a pod holder, for our coffee pods, worth £30, some foundation also worth £30 and a candle worth £20 which smelt divine! £80 worth of goods for little effort, I couldn't of been more pleased. 2016 was my best comping year even though I only started in April, I won around 5-12 prizes per month, all things I would use or be able to pass on as gifts to friends and family who would be able to use them.

As the years go on, more people seem to be comping, wins can seem few and far between, but due to social media, the competitions do keep on coming, but the competition is tighter. Some days I only enter one or two competitions if that, other days I can spend hours entering. There are plenty of websites and forums out there to help you comp. My favourites and most used being...Money Saving Expert - Competition Time Forum.Competition Databaseand Loquax.

What I love about MSE is the forum and the friendships I've made from it, it is a great community and lots of competitions are posted daily, with end dates listed in the title, prizes and ways to enter, you can tick the competitions you've entered and cross of the ones that you do not want to enter or cannot enter, due to collection or dates you cannot go to an event etc.

The downside is you sometimes get duplicate competitions, although most of the time if spotted, they will merge the posts together, so that you don't accidentally enter a once only competition more than once and disqualify yourself. You aren't allowed to post your own competitions to the forum though, self promotion is not permitted on MSE.

What I love about the Competition Database is you can easily select which types of competitions you'd like to enter from it, Facebook competitions, Twitter or even Gleams, or you can choose via the types of prizes you'd like to enter for, such as vouchers, children's clothing or wedding items. People are also allowed to post their own competitions to the site, so if you host competitions, this is a good site for you to get more entries and traffic to your site.

The more you contribute to the site, whether you are adding your own competitions or someone else's, the more contribute points you get which puts you on a leaderboard, the top 10 people a week get the chance to win a £20 amazon voucher, as their name goes into a random draw. You can gain points by adding competitions to the site, correcting errors and even announcing the winners of competitions.The downside is competitions have to be accepted by the website team, this can take time and competitions could be missed.

What I love about Loquax is you can also enter via competitions type entry ways, selecting Facebook, Twitter, Gleams etc. You can select the date they are ending or index by closing soon competitions, you are allowed to advertise your own competitions on there, for more traffic and competition entries to head your way, if your hosting a competition.

The downside to Loquax is the lack of community chat and forums, I'm also not a huge fan of the layout.

This year has been an okay year for wins, in total so far I have won 30 prizes, totalling to £330.77 not including my custom portrait and custom phone cover, which I couldn't put a price on. My biggest prizes being a Ergo Pouch sleep suit for 2-5 year olds worth £59.99 and a £50 Pets at Home voucher.

If you like the idea of entering competitions and the chance of winning, then I say choose a forum or website, stick to one to start off with, to be able to keep track of what you are entering and so to not dupe yourself. Enter and forget - if you get your hopes up and wins do not come your way then it can be very draining and feel like a waste of time. If you enjoy entering and forget about what you've entered and a winning email or phone call comes through, then it is just an added bonus to this hobby. Some people win daily, others weekly, some people don't win a thing for a year. But have fun, enter and congratulations on anything you do win! Thank you to anyone who contributes to competition sites, you are amazing and I have lots of you to thank for most of my prizes. Much Love! xx

Friday, 30 March 2018

It is important to regularly check your rabbit's poops as they are a great indication of a rabbit's diet and health.
Rabbits produce two types of poo, fecal pellets and cecotrophes.

Rabbit fecal pellets - they should be rounded, uniform in size, dark brown to golden colour, no liquid and barely with any odour. These are mainly made up of undigested food, hay and grass, you're likely to see these in the wild and they are known as the 'regular' bunny poops. Rabbits should produce 200-300 of these poops daily, per rabbit, they shouldn't be too hard and crumble when squeezed.

Cecotrophes, also called caecrotrophes, cecal or night faeces - these are dark, grape like, can be smelly, mushy with a thin layer of mucus. These are usually eaten straight from a rabbit's bottom, you'll often see a rabbit cleaning themselves and then munching on something, it is likely that they are eating their cecotrophes. They are also known as night faeces as they like to do it in private, usually in the night time, although they can eat them any time of day.
Cecotrophes are important to eat as they are made up of nutrients from their food that has been passed through their caecum / appendix, fermented and released for their consumption.

If you see lots of cecotrophes then your rabbit's diet may be too rich and it is important to up the amount of hay they are eating and maybe reduce the amount of pellets or veg. (A rabbit's diet should be at least 80% hay)

[Photo to appear here]

------------

Irregular poop size and consistency can be a sign of some gut issues.

Small dark irregular poop can be a sign of a slow gut and possible gut statis, it can also happen through stress and other illness, so it is important to keep an eye on your rabbit's poop and if this is happening make sure they are eating enough hay, moving around enough. These poops can also be a sign of dehydration and a result of medication. If they aren't eating then you'll need to see a vet immediately.

Picture thanks to Sarah A Sims

Small dark long poops can be a sign of ingested hair, dehydration, lack of fibre and a result of medication, so make sure your bunny is moving, getting enough water and hay.

[Photo]

Connected / linked poop trails can be a result of ingested hair or carpet, as rabbits cannot vomit their hair is passed through their intestines and appear as connected poops. The best way to ensure your bunny doesn't ingest too much hair is to regularly brush them and make sure they are eating a good amount of hay to keep it passing through if they do ingest some.

Loose poop is usually a result of too much fruit or veg or they have eaten something that doesn't agree with them, it can also be a sign of other illnesses, to treat a runny bottom you can wipe your bunny with unscented, non-alcohol wipes and feed only hay for 24 hours and see if it improves, if no improvement at all or it gets worse, you'll need to see a vet immediately.

[Photo]

Diarrhoea, true diarrhoea in bunnies is very rare and is usually a sign that you need to seek a veterinary's opinion immediately and take a stool sample with you, it is often a sign of illness, poison or parasites. In young rabbits it can be a sign that a kit has been weaned too early.

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

PyroPets are a selection of animal shaped candles, which are beautifully made and almost origami shaped, which reveal and surprise inside. They were originally funded by thousands of Kickstarter fans, they make beautiful ornaments with a dark secret. When burnt they bring a great ambience to any home, with the flame standing tall and burning the down the candle gradually, to reveal an aluminum skeleton. Make sure you burn them on a heat proof candle plate though, as each candle burns down differently, they advise at least a 25cm diameter plate.

We are reviewing the Kisa Black which is also available in grey and pink which measures at 17cm by 7.5cm by11.5cm and made from paraffin wax a cotton wick and an aluminium frame with a burn time of 20 hours and sell for around £25.
We were also lucky enough to have a smaller citronella Bibi bird to try and enjoy.

I absolutely adore the design, we've burnt ours for many hours and no issues, except when it set the smoke alarm off as it overspilled, I think these would make a great gift for animal lovers and skull lovers, something a little bit different, hours of fun and something unique.

Hours of burning and we still have so much more left, but here is the reveal of the skull.

Monday, 14 August 2017

Importance
In the wild rabbits live in groups and even domesticated rabbits thrive from company of their own kind, there is nothing like another rabbit friend, once bonded, so it is highly important that if you are considering getting a rabbit that you also consider getting an already bonded pair or are willing to find your rabbit a friend.

Age and size doesn't matter when selecting a friend for your rabbit, as they all speak the same language, although it is important to stress that not all rabbits are compatible so your best option would be to take your rabbit to a rescue centre to help find the perfect bunny for them or have a plan B if your rabbits don't bond.Remember: Rescue centre rabbits are already vet checked, vaccined and neutered.

Best match
Although most rabbits get on when they are younger, as soon as puberty hits, they can become very aggressive towards each other and fallout. So, it is important to get both your rabbits neutered for physical health, mental health and for them to be able to have a bonded friend or two. A male and female neutered pair generally works best, although not always the case. You should wait at least 8 weeks after the male has been neutered to try the bonding process as the hormones may still be in his system and can still cause aggression or potential unwanted litters and for the female to be fully healed after her spay.

Introduction
Once you have found your rabbit a friend, you want to introduce them in a small neutral area, this is an area where both rabbits haven't been before and have nothing in there that smells of either rabbit, this can be a small run, crate or even the bathroom. The bathtub without any water in it, with a towel in the bottom can make a great place to start, this is usually a neutral space and if they begin the fight the towel may slip slightly and they are more likely to stop and try and regain their balance without a full on fight. If they begin to fight, you can hold a towel up in between them and remove the towel once settled, or try again another time.

Thumping
You may find that the bunnies start thumping their back feet against the floor, this is okay, they are unsure of each other and it is a warning sign.

Humping
If they are humping each other - that is okay, they are trying to assess dominance and work out who is in charge, sometimes the other will give in or this can be a battle between them.
Excessive humping - is not okay and you'll need to step in and remove them from each other.
Humping of the face - is okay to some degree but too much can cause issues with the other biting the others genital area and this isn't okay and again you'll need to separate them.

Nipping/Biting
You may also find that they may nip each other this is also dominance related and them telling the other off or to stay still, this is okay unless they are biting really hard or they draw blood. If they draw blood I'd remove them from each other and try again another time, after they've been living next to each other awhile - although some bonds just aren't meant to be.

From Ellis Conroy-Hargrave

Gauge
Once you have put them together, you need to gauge how they are with each other.
If they have humped, groomed or ignored each other these are all good signs and I'd open up the space for them so they have a bigger area and gauge how they are in a larger space, still keeping a very close eye on them. If they continue to behave and get a long, then I'd watch them for that day, clean out the hutch or bed area with distilled white vinegar and water to disinfect and help get rid of the smells of either bunny and if I'm happy with the way they have been all day then they can go in together that night if you are happy to. Some rabbits are an instant bond, which is amazing, others can take a little longer.
If you are unhappy with any of their behaviour, it is best to put them in separate hutches but so they can see each other and smell each other overnight, just to be on the safe side and for ease of mind.

Stress bonding
Putting both rabbits in the same carrier and taking them for a 30-45 minute drive can bring your rabbits closer together, this is part of stress bonding, the rabbits are already stressed in the carrier and car so it can push your bunnies to look after each other and sit next to one another during the journey, as well as getting used to one another.

Here's Bugs and Winnie from Amy K Gregory

Living next to each other
This is a step which you can start with if you aren't happy to put them together straight away or if you are waiting for one to recover from their neuter/surgery. But it also comes in handy during the bonding process if your bond isn't so easy.
Having two runs and two hutches next to each other, will allow them to live next to each other, get used to one another's scent and behaviours and let them get to know one another. Once they start to lay next to each other, start to relax and even ignore each other, that is the time that they are usually willing and accepting of each other and ready to meet in a small neutral space.

Loved up French Lops - Arnie and Luna from Alison Frances Ford

Swapping litter trays/hutches
If your bunnies are still misbehaving together or you aren't ready to try them together yet, then you can also swap their litter trays or areas over, this will again help them get used to each other's scent without them actually interacting with each other, some bunnies will thump, throw the litter tray etc. this is normal behaviour as your bunny can smell another rabbit in what they think is there territory, once this behaviour stops you can go ahead and let them meet in the small neutral space as mentioned before.

It can take hours to days to bond a pair/group of rabbits sometimes even weeks or months, be patient, there are even services out there that can do it for you or help you through the process. Rescues often let you take your rabbit to them for your bunny to find their perfect match, they can even help you put them together and gauge how they are before you take your new bunny home and even take back the rabbit if you can't get the bond to work, although as stated a male and female neutered pair works best.

Ozzie and Dexter - nearly 12 years old!

I swear their old age is down to their lifelong friendship

from Karen Collins.

Good Luck with any bonding! Feel free to ask any questions and I'm more than happy to add in anything if you feel I have missed anything important out.

Sunday, 13 August 2017

For my belated birthday my sister had arranged for us to go to Woburn Safari Park, this was the first time I have been on a safari, but I love animals and the Zoo, so this was a real treat!

She arranged for her and her partner to pick my partner and I up, on Saturday morning around 9am, then we set off for an hour drive to the park. Upon arrival we decided to do the drive safari first and saw many animals, including a bear that walked right in front of the car! As we went around we took lots of pictures and had a good laugh, we parked up and found a bench where we had lunch, that my sister had prepared for us. Was lovely apart from the amount of wasps that wanted to join us for lunch.

My sister and her partner enjoyed a ride on the swan pedalo whilst my partner and I sat and watched, enjoying the sun.
Once they were back we went and saw the noisy otters being fed, muscles and vitamin pellets, then behind us was the Birds in action show just about to start, although one of the birds, called Pep, flew off and apparently likes to eat people's sandwiches and fly back when he is ready!

After watching the bird show we went around and looked at all the animals on the foot safari, stroked a goat in the petting zoo and nearly had my ring stolen by this little monkey...

After around 5 hours of being at the park we went to the gift shop, where there was some gorgeous items and then grabbed an ice-cream; I had a mint choc chip cone. After the ice-cream we went to feed the birds in the rainbow lodge, where we were given a little pot of nectar, held out our hands and the birds sat and drank the nectar.

We had a great day out exploring for 6 hours and headed home. My first trip to the Safari park and the first time my sister's partner had ever seen a red panda!